True words are not pretty Pretty words are not true Wise men do not talk about the Unspeakable One who talks about the Unspeakable is not wise Wise men are not learned And learned ones aren’t wise A wise man doesn’t gather possessions He gives what he has And therefore he is worthy of living [...]
May mankind live in freedom, equality and brotherhood again, So that there will be no need for leaders and superiors Then people won’t fear death any longer And won’t try to escape death May it be that people don’t feel the need anymore, To move themselves about in vehicles And that they will have nothing [...]
When people make peace after violent hostility Then it’s an armed peace How can it be right? One who is wise only takes a look at his own share in the conflict And never blames his opponent So one who is fair only faces his own part While one who is not daring enough to [...]
Nothing in life is so soft and compliant as water Nothing is stronger in breaking what is hard and strong Nothing can exceed it in doing this Weak overcomes strong Soft overcomes hard Nobody knows this And no one practices it Therefore the sage says: One who is the least in the world, will be [...]
The natural order is like stretching a bow The low bow gets pushed up high And the high tendon pulled downwards Where there is too much, it takes away Where there is not enough, it fills Nature strives for harmony all the time Decreases where there is too much And increases where there is too [...]
When a human being is born, it’s supple and weak When it dies it’s stiff and strong Everything that’s alive (take a look at grass and trees for example) Is supple and flexible And when they die they are shriveled and parched Therefore hardness and inflexibility are companions of death And suppleness and softness, companions [...]
